Questions tagged [standards]
Consistent formats for expressing or representing data that facilitate the transfer and exchange of data among different software tools.
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Specifying a Place Name in US With Regard to Time Frame
I understand that a pre-Independence place name will be different than a post-Independence place name (e.g., "Colony of Virginia, Royal Colony of Great Britain" & "Virginia" ......
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votes
1
answer
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Would occupation be appropriate for the NSFX field for older German listings?
The NSFX field, aka the Name Suffix field, is listed in the GEDCOM 5.5 standard as:
NAME_PIECE_SUFFIX: = {Size=1:30}
[ <NAME_PIECE> | <NAME_PIECE_SUFFIX>, <NAME_PIECE> ]
Non-indexing ...
- 1,013
7
votes
4
answers
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Including Names That Changed in Online Trees
Say I have a person legally born (for example) as Harry William Smith, but he was known by everyone since his teenage years as Buddy. His father passed away when he was young and his mother remarried ...
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2
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Handling nicknames on Ancestry.com?
I have a relative whose first and middle names were given as "Mary Magdalena". However, for her entire life, she went by "Lena" and some records even have that listed. Anyone living who remembers her ...
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GEDCOM: INDI.FAMC vs FAM.CHIL
This question pertains to processing GEDCOM files. Specifically, establishing the relationships between individuals: Fred is a child of Mary, Mary is married to John, John is a child of George, etc.
...
- 149
7
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1
answer
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How do I visibly make people aware that a connection is only tenuous and further research is needed?
Is there some sort of standard or accepted manner in which to indicate that an ancestor's connection to your family line is not fully supported. YET! That it is still in research mode. I'm thinking a ...
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3
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How to handle name changes in records?
Is there a standard for how to write a person's name in genealogy records or family trees?
What I'm getting at is what to do with the maiden names, or previous names. If Peter Svensson was born 1900, ...
- 153
8
votes
3
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Which UK county type to use for data entry: historic, ceremonial, registration, or administrative?
This question is related to: Should I use the modern (what it is called now) or historical (what it was called) place name? There is no doubt that the standard is to record the name of the place as it ...
- 18.9k
5
votes
2
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Standard GEDCOM tag/note for copyright?
I understand that the basic facts (birth dates, marriage, etc.) can not be copyrighted. But notes and observations can. I have no interest in having my work be uploaded to ancestry.com and similar ...
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What GEDCOM tag should the DNA Haplogroup be stored?
I was reviewing the GEDCOM 5.5 specification and I am not clear as to what field should be used to store the basic Haplogroup information for an individual from DNA testing as described in What ...
- 5,581
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3
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Entering marriage banns into my database – one fact or three?
Most genealogy programs support Marriage Banns facts. In GEDCOM it is the MARB tag, associated with a date and a place.
Banns were a:
Proclamation or public notice given in church of an intended ...
- 18.9k
7
votes
1
answer
463
views
Is there a BNF (Backus Normal Form or Backus–Naur Form) for the gedcom grammar?
BNF is Backus Normal Form (or Backus–Naur Form) and is a standard way to define a grammar for a syntax. It makes it easy for parsers to digest data. I was thinking of writing some erlang code for ...
- 3,745
3
votes
2
answers
143
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Is it appropriate to include my brother's son?
I'm using an online service to create a family tree. I have already included my own information.
Is it a common / best practice to include the son and the wife of one's half-brother (I think that is ...
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2
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Genealogical Standard way to record the US, USA, United States, United States of America?
What is the genealogical standard way to record specifically the United States of America?
I want to be clear this question is specific to storing "United States of America", not a general how to ...
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7
votes
5
answers
2k
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Denoting end of family line, no children in GED and other records
I am wondering if there is any "genealogical standard" for denoting end of line (such as there is a symbol on tombstones that means this) or that it is definitively know they had no offspring.
I have ...
- 5,581
9
votes
3
answers
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Recovering family tree data from Banner Blue genealogy file?
I have my family tree stored on a 3 1/2 floppy disk. The disk contains 3 files with the suffixes .FBK, .FTW and .FTM. I can access the files just fine. The dates on the files show that they were ...
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Using git for genealogy collaboration
Are there any existing projects or proposed standards for using git (a source version control system) to collaborate on building genealogical source records and/or conclusions?
Git
Git (best known ...
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12
votes
5
answers
231
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Dixie Kiefer died on a mountain. Should I include the mountain's name in the place of death?
I discovered this weekend that Dixie Kiefer is my first cousin three times removed. Dixie was a well known, respected, and battered Navy commander. After surviving the sinking of the Yorktown and at ...
user47
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votes
1
answer
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Information on how to create a text descendancy chart
I often run across 'descendancy charts' --- as plain ASCII text. Mostly of the form:
DECENDENTS OF JOSEPH WILLIAM SMYTHE
1 SMYTHE, Joseph William b: 18 Feb 1858 in LA d: 26 Jan 1947 in Cecil, LA
...
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4
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How to record "at sea" as a location
In my database, locations are "all" entered in the form City, County, State, Country (mostly the US). But I have two I am not sure how to handle. One relative was born "at sea" (between England and ...
15
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5
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Documented standards for genealogy data entry
I've made the decision to re-enter all my family history data in a consistent fashion (as opposed to the current file, which has grown organically over time), validating the data as I go. Is there a ...
user104
4
votes
1
answer
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Is there a replacement for Gedcom in the works? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where are genealogical data standards futures currently being discussed/developed?
Right now there are many data formats (many commercial and open source programs have their ...
- 3,745
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2
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Why haven't more programs adopted Gramps XML free format?
What short comings if any does Gramps XML free format have; that has stopped other major genealogy programs adopted it as a transfer format?
Why don't more programs accept it for import seeing it is ...
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22
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4
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1k
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Do any programs use Gedcom X (as opposed to Gedcom)?
Gedcom X appears to be an attempt at a next generation gedcom format.
"The intent of GEDCOM X is to define a standard for modeling and
exchanging the components of the research process that ...
- 3,745
10
votes
3
answers
132
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What source detail should I include for a digital book?
I use the following to record my digital book sources. Should I include anything else?
Author
Editor
Title
Publication Place
Publisher
Publisher Year
Page
Format
Website URL
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3
answers
282
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What source details should I include for a printed book?
I use the following to record my printed book sources. Should I include anything else?
Author
Title
Edition
Publisher and Location
Year of Publication
Page
- 681
10
votes
3
answers
992
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How to deal with inaccurate obituaries so I'm not perpetuating the errors?
I like to include obituaries and newspaper articles within my descendancy reports printed for other family members. Often the obituaries have small errors, like wrong town of birth, or year of ...
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4
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What is the standard method for recording married names?
Suppose Mary A marries John B and then (after his death or divorce) she marries James C.
Rightly or wrongly my impression is that conventional practice in GEDCOM based programs is to record only ...
- 11.6k
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Are there standards for including step, foster, and adopted relationships in descendant charts and reports?
With no blood relationship, is there a standard way of presenting step, foster and adopted children in descendant charts?
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2
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When/why did the BCG abandon "preponderance of the evidence" (POE)? What is the effect of the change?
When and why did the Board for Certification of Genealogists(R) stop using the term "preponderance of the evidence" to describe how genealogists evaluate evidence.
Today, genealogists who ...
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23
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2
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1k
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Is there a transcription standard that separates unclear words from added words?
Right from the beginning I picked up the habit of adding [square brackets] round unclear or illegible words / letters in transcriptions and < angle brackets > round words / letters that I added ...
- 11.6k
13
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2
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Where are genealogical data standards futures currently being discussed/developed? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What standards exist for the exchange of genealogical information?
The GEDCOM standard has been moribund for many years since it was abandoned by the Mormon church. There ...
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Citation guides for UK sources for family history and genealogy
Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. Revised edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., ...
user104
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7
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How do I write the year with a double date?
If I have a date on a birth certificate that says: "January 13, 1719", do I write the year as 1719, 1718/19, or 1719/20 (the latter two being double dates).
What if the date is April 28, 1719?
...
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23
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4
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What standards exist for the exchange of genealogical information?
I've used GEDCOM to transfer data between desktop software and websites, but it all seems a bit old hat. Is there anything better that will mangle* my data less.
* For example, GEDCOM can lose some ...
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